We know that the digital revolution and social media have opened unlimited new avenues for professions that were once a distant dream and considered impractical and nonviable. Youngsters like Sahib Singh are not only seeing those dreams with open eyes but also living those dreams in real life.
Sahib Singh, also known as @travellingindian, is a young millennial, pursuing his dream of becoming a successful travel blogger. Sahib Singh has 30k followers on his Instagram account. He is at the beginning of his career and working with his full dedication and consistency to carve his niche as a sustainable travel blogger.
Sahib Singh is a Delhi University graduate and a former badminton national player. He is travelling and sharing his travel experiences with a purpose to endorse and promote sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is his passion and one of the main reasons behind his turning into a travel blogger. His blog posts not only give details about beautiful valleys, mountains, and unexplored beaches but also emphasize on how we must co-exist without harming the environment and be more responsible towards the places we visit.
At the age of just 25 years, this young digital nomad has already travelled to many countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, Philippines, etc. According to him, Egypt is his favourite travel destination so far and he has stayed there for the most prolonged period away from home. He explored Egypt for almost two months. According to him, Egypt has everything, rich culture, friendly people, big cities, villages, oasis, beaches, and most importantly Pyramids. He said, “Egypt will always remain close to my heart because I got my scuba diving license there.”
On asking what kind of obstacles he faces while travelling and staying on the road for a long trip, Sahib Singh said there are four main obstacles during a long journey:
1. Funds management – Arranging funds and planning future expenses is crucial. If you don’t plan your expenses wisely, shortage of money can get you into a lot of trouble and believe me you don’t want to be that person who is travelling without money. It can be dangerous. Also, doing things on a strict budget leaves very less margin of error. If you do not spend judiciously during your long stay, there is a possibility that you might face fund crunch in the middle of your trip.
2. Time management – You have to plan your calendar way before you start your trip because if you don’t plan well chances are that you end up either too exhausted while covering all essential places or you might not be able to explore the site properly.
3. Homesickness – When you are on a long trip you start missing almost everything from your own environment, namely family, friends, food, speaking in your language, and comfort of your bed etc. As a travel blogger, most of the time you are travelling solo, so you start missing everything.
4. Food – Talking about problems related to food Sahib said, “It is hard for me to maintain my health because I am very careless when it comes to having a balanced diet. I am a vegetarian and when I travel abroad, I face a lot of challenges in finding healthy vegetarian options.”
According to Sahib, everything has its own set of challenges and most of them can be solved easily with proper planning. He thoroughly enjoys his profession because it has made him extremely independent, he is much more organized, has learnt money and time management, meeting new people and settling in a new environment and new places have made him more accommodative, knowledgeable, and wiser.
His advice to someone who wants to live like him and is planning to enter the profession: “I would never suggest anyone quit their job, pack their bags and leave unless they have a plan and that plan involves answering these three questions: What skillset you have? Can you offer a service using that skillset? How are you planning to fund your travel and necessary expenses using that skillset?
“Once you have answers to the above questions. I will advise you to transition slowly into becoming a travel blogger. Travelling is expensive, and if you leave your job without a plan, it will create an unnecessary burden on you. Be cautious and well planned, save enough amount from your current job because until you start making money from that skill set, you have to fund your trips yourself.”
He worked as an investment advisor initially to generate funds for his passion. He adds, “Do not leave your present job unless you start getting good traffic as well as some level of recognition. Because even if your trips are sponsored there is a human cost attached to it, so strategize everything well ahead. The transition has to be steady.”
As a travel blogger, his USP is that he is a wanderer with a meaningful purpose, and that is to motivate and inspire people to be a responsible traveller, and he lives by setting an example. He wants more and more travel bloggers to join the cause.